Chronology of the Jewish War, 66-70

The Jewish historian Flavius
Josephus offers a consistent chronology of the Jewish
War that started in 66 and culminated in the destruction of the temple
in 70. However, there is a problem. He uses the Macedonian
names for the months, but does not say what he means. There are three possibilities:

He uses the normal Macedonian calendar, which we can corroborate with the
calendar of Tyre or Antioch;

At first sight, it seems that Josephus used all systems but preferred the
Roman one (which suggests that he had access to a Roman military source),
except for the period before the legions
arrived in Judaea
and for Jewish liturgical dates.

This looks like a plausible solution, but is in fact too simple, because
it implies that the killing of the emperor Vitellius (20 December 69) was
recorded by the Romans before it actually happened.

In the following table, you will find a comparison. Preferred dates
bold;
certain dates red; religious festivals
green;
contemporary events (Year of the Four Emperors; Batavian
revolt) here.

*
Flavius Josephus does not mention the year in which Masada fell. Most
scholars have assumed 73, but archaeologists have discovered coins of that
year on top of the rock. 74 is, therefore, much more plausible, although
73 cannot be ruled out.

Literature

This table was based on Barbara Levick, Vespasian (1999 London),
pp.40-42; with some some modifications.